Looks to be a great lens, but it still has no AF, weighs a lot (2.02 lb), and costs double the current 135L price

Plus...there is now the new (promising) Auto-Focusing Sigma 135mm f/1.8 with image stabilization....Could be a winner and will definitely be less expensive than the Zeiss. We will not have to wait too long to find out, apparently.The Zeiss does look like an impressively sharp lens with great contrast and beautiful bokeh! WOW!

After using a Zeiss for the past few months (on a 5D3), the MF is less of a hassle than I realised. For the price of the IQ, it's worth it

If you don't mind me asking, are you doing straight viewfinder focus? Using red light focus confirm? Live view?

I ask because I rented a Zeiss 35 f2 last summer and I LOVED it but I found I was missing shots a bit using the focus confirm. I go back and forth on buying one because I'm sure I'll get better at it but... you never know. Thanks

Mr. bean...I see that the only Zeiss Lens that you have in your quiver is the new 15mm. Nice choice...that would also be one of the easiest to manually focus..(I am saving for that lens...it looks wonderful)...but hand-holding and focusing this 135mm would be a whole different challenge!

Mr. bean...I see that the only Zeiss Lens that you have in your quiver is the new 15mm. Nice choice...that would also be one of the easiest to manually focus..(I am saving for that lens...it looks wonderful)...but hand-holding and focusing this 135mm would be a whole different challenge!

True, it has some latitude, but I've hired a few Zeiss lenses over the past 6 months. "Try before I leap off that fiscal cliff" was my thinking

If you don't mind me asking, are you doing straight viewfinder focus? Using red light focus confirm? Live view?

I ask because I rented a Zeiss 35 f2 last summer and I LOVED it but I found I was missing shots a bit using the focus confirm. I go back and forth on buying one because I'm sure I'll get better at it but... you never know. Thanks

If its the Nikon mount (with adapter), either a bit of a guess or Live View. If its the Canon mount, the focus confirm in the view finder. The focus confirm does have a bit of latitude in it, I must admit.

MF lenses have got their quirks, but, I tend to use them for fairly specific purposes (usually static subjects). It's not that long ago that I was still using the FD range of lenses (4 years or so), so MF isn't too much of a hindrance.